Supplement brands that build trust through clinical evidence outperform brands that rely on hype. Thorne's 2014 research agreement with Mayo Clinic preceded a $3.8 billion agreed sale to Procter & Gamble in August 2026. Flat Tummy Co's celebrity-led marketing drew a UK advertising ruling and a U.S. senator's call for an FTC investigation.
How do Thorne and Flat Tummy Co compare?
Factor
Thorne
Flat Tummy Co
Source of credibility
Clinical research and practitioner channels
Celebrity and influencer endorsements
Key proof point
Mayo Clinic clinical study agreement (announced December 2014)
Kim Kardashian Instagram posts
Regulatory record
No comparable action cited here
UK ASA ruling (2018); 2019 Senate letter to the FTC
Outcome
$3.8 billion cash deal agreed with P&G, announced August 4, 2026
Marketing became a case study in influencer risk
Why did Thorne's trust-first model pay off?
Thorne's trust-first model paid off because credibility was built on evidence a buyer can check. Thorne Research and Mayo Clinic announced in December 2014 that they would run randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials on dietary supplements starting in January 2015. Thorne has since marketed itself on research, practitioner recommendations and quality standards, and P&G's August 2026 announcement describes Thorne as built on science, quality and trust.
Supplements are a credence good, a product whose quality a buyer cannot easily verify even after use. In that kind of market, buyers rely on proxies: third-party testing, clinical research and professional recommendations. Thorne's materials emphasize ingredient traceability, clinical backing, testing protocols and practitioner use, and they avoid exaggerated transformation claims.
Flat Tummy Co relied on celebrity endorsements and appetite-suppression claims, and regulators and lawmakers scrutinized the result. In 2018 the UK Advertising Standards Authority ruled against a Flat Tummy Tea Instagram post and said the product name itself could be read as a health claim, because the maker could not point to authorised claims supporting the effect. In 2019, Senator Richard Blumenthal asked the FTC to investigate detox teas and cited a Kim Kardashian post for Flat Tummy Co that said the products were "helping me get my tummy back to flat."
The FTC had already sent more than 70 letters to influencers in early 2017 reminding them to disclose paid relationships, according to a Manatt advertising law summary. The pattern is clear: endorsements bought for reach create regulatory exposure when the claims behind them cannot be supported.
Attention is not trust because platforms reward visibility, while consumers judge health products on evidence. Celebrity posts can drive sales quickly, but a post that overstates results invites an advertising ruling, a lawmaker's letter and a skeptical audience. Health products face higher scrutiny than most consumer goods, so a credibility failure is read as an ethical failure, not only a marketing miss.
What should supplement brands do?
Supplement brands should follow five rules:
Publish the evidence: name the study, the testing lab and the certification behind each claim.
Prefer qualified professional voices over celebrity endorsements, and disclose every paid relationship.
Remove health claims that cannot be supported, including claims implied by a product name.
Build for repeat purchase, because supplements are daily habits, not impulse buys.
P&G announced on August 4, 2026 an agreement to acquire Thorne for $3.8 billion in cash, saying consumer demand is growing for health products that combine scientific support, quality and practitioner credibility. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close later in 2026.
What did the ASA rule about Flat Tummy Tea?
The UK Advertising Standards Authority ruled in 2018 that a Flat Tummy Tea Instagram post made an unauthorised health claim, and that the product name itself could be construed as one.
What is a credence good in supplement marketing?
A credence good is a product whose quality a buyer cannot easily verify even after use. Supplements fit that definition, so brands rely on certifications, third-party testing and professional endorsement to earn trust. These principles are the same ones behind dedicated supplements PR programs built for brands that would rather grow slowly and stay credible than grow fast and get caught.
Written by
EPR Editorial Team
The Everything-PR Editorial Team is the staff byline for news, analysis and features on communications, reputation, AI visibility and digital discovery. Everything-PR has published since 2009. AI tools assist with research and drafting, and every article is reviewed by a human editor before publication. Coverage follows the Editorial Policy, and substantive corrections are noted on the article under the Corrections Policy.
